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David Fullmer (1803-1879)
}} Biography David Fullmer (July 7, 1803 – October 21, 1879) was an American politician, church leader, and farmer, born in West Chillisquaque, Pennsylvania. He was the older brother of John S. Fullmer, another politician. Fullmer was a person of some importance in the early Latter Day Saint movement. Early childhood David Fullmer spent his childhood and early adult years on his family's farm in Chillisquaque, Northumberland County. In 1830, his father, Peter Fullmer, moved the family from Pennsylvania to Jefferson Township, Richland County, Ohio. Fullmer was brought up on a farm and received a common-school education. In addition to farming, he also taught school and went into merchandising. In September 1831, Fullmer married Rhoda Ann Marvin, daughter of Zera Marvin and Rhoda Williams. In 1835 he moved to Richmond County, Ohio, upon hearing the message of Mormonism. Fullmer was baptized September 16, 1836, by Elder Henry G. Sherwood. Life in Ohio In early 1837, Fullmer traveled to Kirtland, Ohio, where he met Joseph Smith for the first time. Shortly afterward he was ordained an elder under the hands of Reuben Hedlock in the Kirtland Temple; he also received a patriarchal blessing from Patriarch Joseph Smith, Sr. Life in Missouri In September 1837, he removed to Caldwell County, Missouri, to be near the site that Joseph Smith had revealed as the principal gathering place of the Saints. In the spring of 1838 he moved to Daviess County in the same state. The following summer he had a severe attack of sickness which threatened his life, but his health was restored. Many family histories report that David’s family was living near Haun’s Mill, Missouri, at the time when the massacre of the Saints occurred at that place. David probably would have been with the group massacred at the mill, but he was away on other business at the time. His wife Rhoda Ann, sister Desdemona and other members of the family were forced to hide in the woods to escape the mob. (L.D.S. Church Encyclopedia, Book page 235) Life in Illinois With mounting opposition between the newcomer Latter-day Saints and the "old settlers" of Missouri, and after Missouri Governor Lilburn W. Boggs issued Missouri Executive Order 44, he was compelled with the rest of the Saints to leave his home and possessions in Missouri, under threat of death. With the Saints, he went to the state of Illinois, where he left his family and then continued to Ohio to assist in moving his father to Illinois. He and his family eventually settled in Nauvoo, Illinois. During this time, Fullmer was ordained to the office of high priest in 1839 and appointed to the high council in the Nauvoo Stake. In 1844, Fullmer was appointed to be one of the electioneering missionaries in behalf of Joseph Smith's candidacy for President of the United States. He was engaged in this labor and in preaching in the state of Michigan when he received news of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. Fullmer immediately returned to his home in Nauvoo and attended the general meeting of the Church, at which the claims of Sidney Rigdon to be guardian of the Church were rejected by vote of the conference, and the Twelve Apostles, with Brigham Young presiding, were sustained as the pro temp leaders of the Church. In the ensuing schism, Fullmer, along with a majority of the Saints, would side with Brigham Young as the rightful successor to the presidency and prophetic mantle of Joseph Smith, Jr. Plural marriage After having been married for fourteen years to Rhoda Ann Marvin (1813-1892), Fuller entered into marriages with a widow, Margaret Phillips (1800-1890) and her daughter, Sarah Sophronia Oysterbanks (1822-1906) in Nauvoo, Illinois. On 19 January 1846, all three wives were sealed to him, for eternity, in the then-newly completed Nauvoo Temple. Fullmer divorced Margaret Phillips in 1848, without the two having had any known children. With his other two wives, however, Fullmer had twenty children altogether: eleven with Rhoda Marvin, and nine with Sarah Oysterbanks. Civic, theocratic, and ecclesiastical engagements Fuller was a member of the Nauvoo City Council, and later, after the Illinois Legislature repealed the Nauvoo city charter, he was elected to the town council of Nauvoo. He was also a member of the Council of Fifty, a theocratic representation of and preparation for what Joseph Smith perceived as the impending Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ. 1844 Mormom Persecutions From the History of https://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/6/10.html History of Joseph Smith is this account where David had volunteered for a scout expedition to explore the mountain west for Joseph Smith and the saints: Tuesday, (20 Feb 1844).—"I instructed the Twelve Apostles to send out a delegation and investigate the locations of California and Oregon, and hunt out a good location, where we can remove to after the temple is completed, and where we can build a city in a day, and have a government of our own, get up into the mountains, where the devil cannot dig us out, and live in a healthful climate, where we can live as old as we have a mind to." Wed, (21 Feb 1844) "At a meeting of the Twelve, at the mayor's office, in Nauvoo ... called by previous notice, by instruction of President Joseph Smith on the 20th instant, for the purpose of selecting a company to explore Oregon and California, and select a site for a new city for the Saints. Jonathan Dunham, Phineas H. Young, David D. Yearsley, and David Fullmer, volunteered to go; and Alphonzo Young, James Emmett, George D. Watt, and Daniel Spencer were requested to go. Voted the above persons to be notified to meet with the council on Friday evening next, at the assembly room, Willard Richards, Clerk. However, nothing directly ever came of this proposal. David's brother, John Solomon Fullmer (1807-1883), was a close friend of Joseph and stayed with briefly at Carthage Jail on the day just before his Martyrdom (27-Jun-1844). At that time he was a colonel in Nauvoo Legion and also Leader of Spartan Band of Nauvoo. David's sister, Desdemona Wadsworth Fullmer (1809-1886), was married to Joseph Smith as one of his spiritual wives. Expulsion and trek to Utah In the winter of 1846, with the Saints threatened with expulsion from Nauvoo, Brigham Young led church members into the western frontier to find a new home for the Saints. Fullmer was appointed "captain" over a company of one hundred pioneers, Brigham Young organizing the traveling Saints after the camp of Israel described in the Book of Exodus. In 1846, it was decided that a temporary settlement was needed as a resting place for the rear company of Saints and all those who, from lack of means, were unable to proceed further. To this end, Garden Grove, Iowa was established, with Samuel Bent appointed as president and Fullmer as his first counselor. Here the exiled Saints made a large farm and worked together to raise grain. There were many poor among them who were destitute for food and clothing. When President Bent died shortly after the settlement was established, the presidency passed to Fullmer. He sent missionaries out along the great rivers to solicit aid for the relief of the poor, and by this means some help was obtained. The company moved to another temporary settlement called Winter Quarters, Nebraska, on the Missouri River, before making their way to present-day Utah. After arriving to the main settlement then known as Great Salt Lake City, Fullmer was appointed first counselor to Daniel Spencer, president of the Salt Lake Stake, in 1849. At this time, when Church leaders also served as community leaders, there was a fusion of church and state, Fullmer continuing his role in the theocratic government known as the Council of Fifty. Fullmer continued his overland travels in service to his church and people. For five months during the winter, he journeyed south with an exploring expedition, serving as counselor to Parley P. Pratt. Fullmer would later serve as captain over a relief company, traveling east to Independence Rock to assist a company of Saints who were journeying westward. When the territory of Utah was created, Fullmer was elected a member of the legislature for Salt Lake County, and at various times served in other civic positions, such as treasurer of the University of Deseret, treasurer pro temp of Salt Lake County, treasurer of Salt Lake City, delegate to one of the early territorial conventions, director of the Agricultural Society, and home missionary. Stake president In 1852, stake president Daniel Spencer (1794-1868) was called on a mission to Great Britain, and Fullmer became acting president of the stake (1852–56). In the General Conference of the LDS Church held April 7, 1853, David Fullmer was formally sustained as the fourth president of the Salt Lake Stake. A special conference was convened under the direction of President Brigham Young on August 13, 1853, at which time Thomas Rhoads and Phineas H. Young were sustained as Fullmer's counselors. When community problems arose they were often solved by the local church leaders. For example, a resolution of the brethren of the Mill Creek Ward passed on January 29, 1853, explained the necessity of calling a general meeting for discussion of uniform prices for agricultural products and standard wages for mechanical labor and related services. Such a meeting was subsequently held on February 3, 1853, where the "Deseret Agricultural Society" was formed for the purpose of carrying out the resolutions of the farmers. During the three and a half years President Fullmer presided over Salt Lake Stake he organized two new wards: 5th Ward (previously authorized, but not made an active ward until 1853) and the Sugar House Ward in 1854. The stake then had a total of twenty-nine wards when President Spencer returned. None of the wards had been transferred or discontinued. President Fullmer appointed four members of the high council during his presidency and twenty new bishops. As the officers of Salt Lake Stake were presented during the semiannual conference of the Church held October 8, 1853, as was the usual practice, it was reported that there were three members of the First Presidency and nine members of the Council of the Twelve who resided and had their membership in Salt Lake Stake. Members of the Council of the Twelve attended the annual meeting of the 14th Ward on December 26, 1853. After certain matters of business were attended to and some spiritual talks given, dancing and social activities were enjoyed by all. Later life, death Several years before his death, Fullmer was ordained a patriarch. David Fullmer died at his home on October 21, 1879 at 11:20 PM of causes incident to age. He was 76 years of age. His funeral was on Thursday, October 23, 1879, in the Salt Lake Sixth Ward Chapel, at 1 PM, with several prominent members of the LDS Church in attendance. He was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery in the Family Plot. LDS Scripture Citation David Fullmer is immortalized in LDS scripture where he is named part of the first LDS Church High Council in Nauvoo, 19-Jan-1841, part of revelation given to Joseph Smith : And again, I say unto you, I give unto you a high council, for the corner-stone of Zion, Namely, Samuel Bent, Henry G. Sherwood, George W. Harris, Charles C. Rich, Thomas Grover, Newel Knight, David Dort, Dunbar Wilson—Seymour Brunson I have taken unto myself; no man taketh his priesthood, but another may be appointed unto the same priesthood in his stead; and verily I say unto you, let my servant Aaron Johnson be ordained unto this calling in his stead— '''David Fullmer', Alpheus Cutler, William Huntington.'' Doctrine & Covenants 124:132-133 Autobiography Autobiography of David Fullmer as dictated to his daughter: I, David Fullmer, son of Peter Fullmer and Susannah Zerfoss, was born July 7, 1803 at Chilisquaque, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States of America. I was brought up on a farm, and received a common school education. I left the farm and went to teaching school for a while, and subsequently to merchandising. In September, 1831 A.D. I was married to Rhoda Ann Marvin, daughter of Zera Marvin and Rhoda Williams Marvin. In the year 1835 I moved to Richland County in the State of Ohio. On September 16, 1836 I was baptized in to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, by Elder Henry G. Shirwood. The following winter I went to Kirtland, where for the first time I had the pleasure of seeing the Prophet Joseph Smith. Here I was ordained to the office of an Elder in 1837, under the hands of Reuben Hedlook, in the Temple of Kirtland, and also received a Patriarchal Blessing there under the hands of Joseph Smith senior, the Prophet's father, who was patriarch for the Church. In September 1837 I removed to Caldwell County in the State of Missouri, which State had been designated as the gathering place for the Saints. In the spring of 1838, I removed to David County in the same State. The following summer I had a severe sickness and was reduced nigh unto death, but by the blessing of God my life was preserved and I was raised up. Great persecution raged against the Saints, and Governor Lilburn W. Boggs issued an order of extermination against the Saints, and the mob compelled our people to leave their homes an possessions. I with my family was driven from my home and property and I went Caldwell County. At Haun's Mill the mob massacred 18 members of the Church, and the next day some 13 or 15 were buried in a dry well, as there was no time to dig graves. I, in common with all the Saints, was compelled to leave the state of Missouri. We fled to the state of Illinois, where I left my family and went to the state of Ohio and assisted in moving my father to the state of Illinois. I settled in Nauvoo, Hancock County, in 1839. I was ordained a High Priest September 2, 1842, and was appointed one of the High Council for that stake of Zion. In 1844, I was appointed, with many others, to go on a preaching and electioneering mission to the states. I went to Michigan and preached the Gospel and told the people that Joseph Smith was a good and suitable person for the presidency of the United States of States America. A state convention was being held at the town of Jackson to nominate a president of the United States on the very day that the news reached us of the assassination of the Prophet and Patriarch, Joseph and Hyrum Smith in Carthage Jail in state of Illinois. I returned to my home in Nauvoo and attended a general meeting of the Church, at which meeting claims of Sidney Rigdon to the presidency or guardianship of the Church were not recognized, but the Twelve Apostles with Brigham Young as a president were sustained as presidents of the Church. We were not permitted to enjoy our homes long, for the mobs burned and otherwise destroyed our property and finally drove us from the state of Illinois. I was appointed one of a committee, called "The Living Constitution", whose business it was to settle all difficulties that might arise among the different mechanical associations. I was also elected a member of the City Council of the City of Nauvoo in 1844, and when the state legislature repealed the charter for the City Nauvoo. I was elected a member of the Town Council of Nauvoo, I was also appointed a member of a Quorum of Fifty. When the upper story of the Temple in Nauvoo was finished I received with my companions our washings our anointings and all endowments, and all ordinances and blessings of the fullness of the Melchizedek Priesthood was conferred upon us, in which we rejoiced evermore. In the winter of 1846 when the Saints were expelled from Nauvoo, and the presiding authorities of the Church having decided to journey into the wilderness to seek a home and gathering place beyond the Rocky Mountains, I started with the first company or camp of Israel to go to find a home in a land that the lord our God should show unto us. In the following spring (1847) it was decided to make a temporary settlement or resting place for the rear company of Saints and all those who from lack of means were unable to proceed further, at a place we called Garden Grove in the State of Iowa. Brother Samuel Bent was appointed to stay at this place and preside, and I was appointed first councillor to him. We made a large farm and worked together to raise grain etc. There were many poor among us who were almost destitute both of food and clothing. President Bent died and the presidency of the place devolved upon me. In order to feed and clothe the poor I sent missionaries along the great rivers to solicit donations in their behalf, which afforded some relief. On leaving Garden Grove I moved to another temporary settlement farther west called Winter Quarters on the Missouri River, at which place I was appointed one of a committee of vigilantes by President Brigham Young. From this place, by the counsel of President Brigham Young I took up my journey for the Great West, and traveled in the company over which President Willard Richards presided in the summer of 1848. Having arrived at the Valley of Great Salt Lake, a city was laid out and other settlements made. A provisional government was established under the name of the "State of Deseret", and I was elected a member of the legislature. I was also appointed on the 14 February 1849 as first counselor with Willard Snow as second counselor to President Daniel Spencer of the Salt Lake Stake of Zion. A company of brethren was appointed to journey southward on an exploring expedition, with Parley P. Pratt as President and I was appointed. I was with this company for five months during the winter season, until we could dig our way out of the snow, which we finally accomplished, and then returned to our home in Great Salt Lake Valley. I was appointed captain to take charge of a company to go east to Independence Rock, to take relief and assistance to a company of Saints who was journeying westward. I was appointed assistant to Bishop Hunter. When the Territory of Utah was created by the General Government, I was appointed Chief Judge of the County Court 12 May 1851. I was elected a member of the legislature for the county of Great Salt Lake 22 September 1851. I was also appointed Treasurer of University of Great Salt Lake, and gave bonds in the sum of one thousand dollars. I was appointed a home missionary to labor among the saints of Zion. I was appointed treasurer for Great Salt Lake City. I was elected delegate to a Territorial Convention from the sixth ward, at the convention I was appointed a director of the Agricultural Society. Elder Fullmer served as first counselor to President Spencer until April 1866, when he was released at his own request because of failing health. Several years before his death he was ordained a Patriarch. At the time of his death he was in full fellowship, beloved and respected by all his associates. On the 21st day of October, 1879, my dear husband died after a long illness and suffering and went to meet a glorious reward which he earned, for this life was one of labor and devotion to his fellowmen, both in church and civic places of trust to which he never failed to give his best. He was a kind and loving husband and father and was indeed worthy of the love and trust his family and friends placed in him. Marriage and Family By the third generation, David and Rhoda Ann Fullmer had over 200 descendants. Vital Records Birth Record * 07-July-1803: - Follmers Evangelical Lutheran Church, Turbot Township, Northumberland, Pennsylvania - 07-July-1803; Parents: Peter & Susanna Fullmer. 1850 US Census "United States Census, 1850," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MCS6-BC8 : accessed 02 Dec 2013), David Fullmer, Great Salt Lake county, Great Salt Lake, Utah Territory, United States; citing dwelling 421, family 421, NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 919. Household Listing #421 at Salt Lake City * David Fullmer - M/47 - B: Penn /Ocp: Farmer * Rhoda Ann Fullmer - F/38 - B: Penn * Eugene Fullmer - M/18 - B:Penn * Junius Fullmer - M/16 - B:Penn * Octavius Fullmer - M/13 - B:Ohio * Elvira Fullmer - F/11 - B:Ill * Ortensia Fullmer - F/8 - B:Ill * Susanna Fullmer - F/6 - B:IA * David Fullmer - M/4 - B:IA * Rhoda Fullmer - F/2 - B:IA Household Listing #422 at Salt Lake City * Sarah Rockwell - F/28 - B:Conn. * Sarah J Rockwell - F/4 - B:Ia Household Listing #423 at Salt Lake City (Parents of David Rullmer) * Peter Fullmer - M/78 - B:Penn - Ocp: None * Susanna Fullmer - F/68 - B:Penn * Mary Fullmer - F/18 - B:Penn * Jane Fullmer - F/16 - B:Penn Genealogical Research Notes * Some family records incorrectly list daughter Ellen Fullmer (1852-1898) (spouse John Tippets) as Sarah Ellen Fullmer, daughter of his third wife, Margaret Phillips, but that would be incorrect. The 1860 US Census should be checked to confirm this. * There is no such child, John Solomon Fullmer. Eugene Bertrand is his firstborn child. References * Family Blog of Peter Fullmer - David Fullmer Family History * * Peter Fullmer Family History * Peter Fullmer Family History Website * David Fullmer Tombstone - FindAGrave Memorial #13396430 * Biography of Rhoda Marvin Fullmer - Archived at FamilySearch.org * 1848 Willard Richards Overland Pioneer Company History *Salt Lake Stake, "The Story of the Salt Lake Stake, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 150 Years of History 1847-1997, Salt Lake City. *Lisle G. Brown, Nauvoo Sealings and Adoptions: A Comprehensive Register of Persons Receiving LDS Temple Ordinances, 1841-1846 (Salt Lake City, UT: Smith-Pettit Foundation, 2006), 107. *''BYU Studies: Biographical Registers'', "F", "Fullmer, David", located online at http://byustudies.byu.edu/Resources/BioAlpha/MBRegisterF.aspx * Influential Mormon Pioneers * Over The Rim - History of Parley P Pratt's exploration trip of Southern Utah (1849-50). * 1985 Peter Fullmer Family Letter - Includes copy of 1874 will and last testament of David Fullmer. Category:American Mormon missionaries in the United States Category:Converts to Mormonism from Methodism Category:University of Utah people Category:Mormon pioneers Category:People from Northumberland County, Pennsylvania Category:19th-century Mormon missionaries Category:Members of the Council of Fifty Category:Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery Category:Doctrine and Covenants people Category:American leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Category:Stake Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Category:Stake presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints